''Winter in Madrid'' is a

spy novel Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligenc ...

written by C. J. Sansom. The setting is the aftermath of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

in 1940. The

main character A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

is a wounded veteran, Harry Brett. He received his wounds during the Dunkirk withdrawal. The book is purposely set in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, where

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

resided. The historical setting, Madrid in the Franco era, is well described and almost a "character" according to various reviews. The book contains a historical section at the end to explain what part of the book is based on facts and what is fiction. Critical notes concern the (non-rich) language and a shortage of "thrills" throughout the whole book.New York Times review
/ref>

Plot

After his recovery, Dunkirk veteran Harry Brett is recruited by the

British Secret Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligence ...

to make contact with Sandy Forsyth, a shady

-based British businessman and a former school friend. Harry's cover is as an interpreter in the British embassy. He arrives in Spain in October 1940 and finds that the Spanish suffer terribly from political repression, food shortages, poverty and the destruction brought by the

. Brett works at the embassy for Ambassador Sir Samuel Hoare, an arrogant bully and

Alan Hillgarth Captain Alan Hugh Hillgarth (1899–1978) was a British adventure novelist and member of the intelligence services, perhaps best known for his activities in Spain during and after the Spanish Civil War. Hillgarth appears as one of the actual hist ...

, the clever cunning chief of intelligence. He meets General Maestre, a contact of the embassy and prominent member of the monarchist faction. In a twist of fate, Sandy Forsyth's girlfriend, Barbara Clare, is a former lover of another school friend, Bernie Piper, a

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

member of the

International Brigades The International Brigades ( es, Brigadas Internacionales) were military units set up by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The organization existed f ...

missing Missing or The Missing may refer to: Film * ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young * ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras * ''Missing'' (2007 film) (''Vermist''), a Bel ...

since the

Battle of Jarama The Battle of Jarama (6–27 February 1937) was an attempt by General Francisco Franco's Nationalists to dislodge the Republican lines along the river Jarama, just east of Madrid, during the Spanish Civil War. Elite Spanish Legionnaires and Moro ...

in 1937. Harry Brett meets Forsyth, who claims to have found large gold deposits in central Spain. Due to Spain's policy of national self-sufficiency and lack of gold, the mine could be of significant importance to the Franco regime. Meanwhile, Barbara meets Luis, an unemployed

Nationalist Spain Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

veteran, who tells her that Bernie is still alive and is being held in a brutal

military prison A military prison is a prison operated by a military. Military prisons are used variously to house prisoners of war, unlawful combatants, those whose freedom is deemed a national security risk by the military or national authorities, and members of ...

near Cuenca. He tells her that he could organise Bernie's escape through his brother, a guard at the camp, in return for money. Harry starts a relationship with Sofia Roque Casas, a Spanish working-class woman. He successfully convinces Forsyth to show him the location of the gold mine, but almost blows his cover by acknowledging Gomez, a henchman of General Maestre who is working undercover at the mine. Gomez is subsequently captured and killed, damaging the embassy's relations with Maestre. In the fallout of Harry's mistake, Hillgarth decides to attempt to recruit Forsyth. Forsyth, betrayed to learn Harry had been spying on him, reveals that his claims of discovering gold are false, and the mine was a sham built to scam investors. After meeting with the embassy, Sandy appears to have fled Madrid. Barbara reveals to Brett and Sofia her plan to rescue Bernie, and Brett reveals that he has been working as a spy. Bernie escapes the labour camp, and Barbara, Harry and Sofia travel to Cuenca to aid his escape, but it proves to be an elaborate trap set by General Maestre as a means of embarrassing Sandy Forsyth. Sandy appears in Cuenca, revealing that he became aware of Barbara's plan and plans to sabotage them as vengeance. When Barbara produces a gun, Forsyth once again flees. Although they manage to escape, Sofia is killed by a member of the

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the a ...

and Bernie is shot in the leg by Maestre. They manage to get back to Britain, but Harry is blacklisted by Hoare as punishment for causing a major diplomatic incident. The epilogue plays in May 1947. Harry Brett is working as a French teacher in a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

. Barbara Clare is a translator on her way to meet some Argentine businessmen. Both are nursing private heartache over losing their one true loves, Harry over Sofia and Barbara over Bernie, who died during the 1944 D-Day landings. As a businessman going by the name Barrancas steps off the plane, Barbara immediately recognised him as Sandy Forsyth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winter In Madrid 2006 British novels British romance novels British spy novels British thriller novels Novels set in Madrid Novels set during the Spanish Civil War Novels by C. J. Sansom Fiction set in 1940 Pan Books books